"As Christianity became a part of the Georgian institution, the state began to dissociate itself from the East and started looking to Western cultural and historical influences. However, when the split between the Roman (Catholic) and Constantinople (Orthodox) Churches occurred in 1054, the Georgian Church sided with Orthodoxy. "

"Location: Greece; Population: Over 10 million; Religion: Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ "; "The Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ plays a central role in Greek life. During the 400 rules of Ottoman rule, the Orthodox Church was the main unifying force of the Greek people... Over 97% of today's Greeks belong to the Orthodox Church, which is described in the 1975 constitution as the 'established religion' of Greece. Although freedom of religion is guaranteed to all Greeks, the Orthodox Church enjoys a special relationship with the government. "

"According to Orthodox officials, 1,300 churches and monasteries are scattered throughout Kosovo, some of them from the 13th century, well before the Turks brought Islam to the Balkans. The attacks against the Orthodox churches strike at this legacy, and at the very roots of the Serb presence in Kosovo. Some of the churches have been looted and burned. Others, like the churches in Musutiste, have been demolished with explosives, suggesting to some the motive is not simple revenge but a systematic effort to drive Serbs from Kosovo. The oldest and most prized Orthodox sites, celebrated for their old frescoes and impressive architecture, have thus far been spared, largely because of NATO's protection. "

Eastern Orthodox

Latin America

481,000

0.10%

-

-

1995

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 646.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "

Eastern Orthodox

Latin America

460,000

0.09%

-

-

1996

The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 654.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "

Eastern Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3%; Total pop.: 1,995,859 (July 1997 est.) note: the Macedonian government census of July 1994 put the population at 1.94 million, but ethnic allocations were likely undercounted; [Location listed as "Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of "]

"As of the early 1990s, Moldova had 853 Orthodox churches and 11 Orthodox monasteries. There were also 14 Old Believers churches... and a monastery. After independence [1991], construction or restoration for over 200 churches was begun. "

"Location: Moldova; Population4.4 million [total population of country; 65% are ethnic Moldovans] "; "Because of the influence of Romanian culture, most Moldovans (98%) associate with the Orthodox Church, although there are also some Uniates. Before the Soviet era, most ethnic Romanians in Moldova belonged to the Romanian Orthodox Church, but the Russian Orthodox Church maintains jurisdiction over the area today. "

"The Orthodox population is the most numerous (80%), but it is not equally present in all regions of the country. Most of the Orthodox believers live in Central Serbia (over 90%). This population is above the Republic average in Belgrade (84%), and below the average in Montenegro (69%) and Vojvodina (58%), and particularly in Kosovo and Metohija. "

"In 1991... There were about 290,300 Protestants (40.1% of the population)... New Brunswick also had about 5,800 Buddhists, and less than 750 people each of the following: people of Eastern Orthodox faith, Jews, and Hindus. "

"An example of Eastern Orthodoxy of the future may well be shaping up in CLeveland, Ohio. Here, at latest count, there are 16 Orthodox parishes with 10 new churches under construction... 90,000 members who are under 7 dif. ecclesiastical jurisdictions. "

"Lefevere (1991:11) quotes Archpriest Vladimir Sorokin, rector of the Russian Orthodox Theological Academy and Seminary, as saying that the 6 million pop. of St. petersburg is 60% Orthodox, about 10 to 15% 'militantly atheists,' while the rest are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim. "

"Even so, about 10,000 additional churches were closed between 1959 and 1964--about half the remaining total in the Soviet Union... The Brezhnev regime later permitted 500 of the closed churches to be reopened. Mosques were not reopened... "

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